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Using Outlook 2010 with a corporate Exchange Server.

The rule I want to create is this:

After rule arrives from [email protected] and with Passed in the subject Move it to the SuccessBuilds folder and mark it Read.

When I did that, the Outlook marked the rule as Client-Side. So I removed the part about marking it Read and it became a server side rule.

So I thought, ok, maybe marking an email as read is a client-side only activity. So I sent myself an email, closed Outlook, opened the email on my iPhone (thus marking it read). Then I opened the Outlook again and the email was already marked read. So clearly marking emails read can be a server-side activity.

So why is my rule being shoved client-side?

AngryHacker
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  • "opening the email on my [your] iPhone" may be a client-side activity. iPhone is a client. It is not the Windows Outlook client, but it is a client nonetheless. – Krazy Glew Nov 12 '15 at 16:13
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    I think what the poster is saying is that the server does know the "read status" of a message, so the server _should be_ able to mark a message as read without a client telling it to do so. – mattgately Mar 21 '16 at 13:55
  • No answer so far explains how to change a client-side rule to be a server-side rule. Is this not possible? This would be much easier than re-creating all my client-side rules on the server. – dinosaur Jun 30 '16 at 21:08
  • Microsoft provides a listing of what actions make a rule Client side: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/server-side-vs-client-only-rules-e1847992-8aa1-4158-8e24-ad043decf1eb – Joshua Drake Dec 27 '22 at 14:24

4 Answers4

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Does your MS-Exchange server provide web-based access to your eMail? If so, try logging into that and creating the rule there (and then it will have to be server-side).

Randolf Richardson
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    This works but keep in mind that if you create a server side rule in Outlook Web Access (OWA) then you will no longer be able to edit it in Outlook. – Pete Jun 27 '16 at 16:12
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    Also when you edit a rule in OWA and add the action mark message as read the rule becomes visible only in OWA and it's removed from Outlook – Ionut Jul 15 '16 at 19:09
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    @Pete: note that this is true only if the rule is incompatible with the desktop app. A simple "move" or "copy" rule is fine and would still show up. It's when you add the "mark as read" action that it won't be visible. – Peter Duniho Mar 19 '20 at 19:04
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If you have the destination folder in Personal Folders, it would be in your pst file(located in PC) and the rule will become client-only. But if you place the destination folder in inbox, the folder will be in your Exchange and the server will process your rules.

Raghav
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Being marked as "read" is a client side action not a server action. When you opened the message on your phone it (the client) read it and then told the server to mark it as read.

user201528
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You can using the outlook web app, set up a rule that will mark the mail as read, and it will work as if it truly was server-side. Anyways, it never pops up as unread in my iphone, even if I don't have the web app or outlook open.

user222591
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